Vikings stadium-bound gambling revenue lags

Electronic pull tab machines such as this and bingo games are projected to generate $36 million per year in tax revenue for bonds to help fund a new Vikings stadium. (Pioneer Press: Richard Marshall)

Tax receipts from new electronic gambling -- approved to help pay for a new Minnesota Vikings' stadium -- are coming in at about half the anticipated pace.

Projected revenue from electronic pull-tabs and bingo for this fiscal year has been reduced from $34 million to $16 million, according to a new state budget forecast released Wednesday, Dec. 5.

As part of the deal reached on the $975 million stadium this year, Gov. Mark Dayton and lawmakers assumed most of the state's $348 million portion would be funded by the new gaming.

Tom Barrett, head of the Minnesota Gambling Control Board, said that getting the devices into bars and restaurants is taking more time than expected. Only one vendor has been approved to supply games, he said, because of the unanticipated complexity of background checks. And that means many charities are waiting for more vendors to see what games they have to offer before jumping in.

About 75 bars and restaurants have electronic gaming devices. In a perfect world, Barrett said, that number would be 300 by now. Minnesota, one of the biggest states for charitable gambling, has about 2,800 charitable gaming sites where people wager about $1 billion annually.

"Obviously, we'd like to be further ahead, but our focus is to make sure that integrity is there," Barrett said. "As things get up and running, I think we'll be on track."